Chapter 357: An Unexpected Visitor

Not long after Saul entered the Forest of Seasons, a sailboat that traveled across land arrived near Hanging Hands Valley.

Captain Wilder of the Land Drifters stood with his arms crossed, his face obscured by a thick beard.

His gaze was fixed firmly in the direction Saul’s carriage had disappeared.

At that moment, one of his men brought over a person cloaked entirely in black to stand behind him.

“Saul didn’t go into Hanging Hands Valley. He went west, into the forest,” the cloaked figure said in a low, respectful voice, standing a head shorter than Wilder.

The voice was barely above a whisper.

Wilder frowned. “That’s the Elven Valley. Few apprentices who enter there ever make it out. Who let him go in?”

The cloaked person lowered their head again. “The key to the valley is with Kongsha.”

“That failure?” Wilder snorted coldly. “And you just let Saul go with her? Why didn’t you stop them? Don’t you care if Saul gets killed by her?”

The cloaked figure trembled slightly, as if frightened of Wilder. “But Captain… we can’t exactly interfere with Saul, can we?”

At that, Wilder’s pupils darted to the edge of his eyes. “It’s you? Hmph. Of course. Only you could get close to him without raising suspicion.”

The figure under the cloak finally raised their head, but even with the hood lifted, it revealed nothing but pure darkness—no face to be seen.

Wilder turned around and dropped his crossed arms.

“I thought you’d be too busy to show up now.”

“Me?” The person suddenly flung back the hood, revealing a head that was just a silhouette of shadow. “An experimental subject just has to lie on the bed. What’s there to be busy about?”

“You dare remove your hood?” Wilder chuckled, his beard trembling slightly at the corners of his mouth. “Lady Yura… or should I call you Vini?”

“As long as Gorsa isn’t here, just call me Vini. I’m not like you people.” Yura walked to the edge of the ship, also gazing in the direction Saul had disappeared. “I only came to warn you to stay away from Saul.”

“If you’re here, that means Gorsa knows exactly where Saul is headed… and he’s fine with it?”

“He never interferes.” Yura’s black silhouette leaned on the railing, part of her arm sinking into the wood. “He once acknowledged three students. Only Saul… only Saul did he ever ask me to follow. He’s the one Gorsa’s intervened with the most with.”

“I never understood why Gorsa suddenly puts so much importance on one apprentice.”

“You think I know?” Yura gave a low snort. “I get the feeling he cares more about Saul than he ever did about the old Yura.”

“Heh, so you—who’s that?!”

Wilder was about to make another jab when he noticed someone slowly approaching the Land Drifter from the direction of Hanging Hands Valley.

That person was already less than 500 meters away before Wilder even noticed them.

The smirk froze on his face. “You’d better find your own way out.”

He said this to Yura. A stranger of unknown identity, but clearly strong, had appeared.

Without knowing who the person was, he certainly didn’t want to be seen with Yura.

Even if Yura had already prepared an excuse for herself, it didn’t matter.

Some things, once caught, couldn’t be explained. Especially with someone as sensitive as Gorsa.

Yura, however, simply smiled lightly. “Then I’ll be off. But don’t worry about our connection being exposed… that person is someone I called here to kill you.”

As she said that, Yura leapt lightly onto the railing and flipped forward a full turn and a half, vanishing into the ground.

Not a speck of dust stirred—she vanished directly into the shadow cast by the massive ship.

Wilder: “You’ve got to be kidding me—!”

Several cannon ports on the ship’s side opened, but instead of cannon barrels, human heads extended out.

Those heads shot forward like cannonballs, their necks stretching like ropes behind them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Head after head slammed into the ground, blasting apart the area where Yura had vanished.

But she didn’t reappear.

Wilder wasn’t disappointed. He had only acted in cooperation with Yura’s “escape.”

Since she was pretending to flee, it wouldn’t make sense if he didn’t play along.

After that single strike, he raised his hand and signaled a ceasefire, then walked grimly to the other side of the ship.

“Who are you? Do not come any closer!”

By now, a Third Rank apprentice sailor was calling out.

Finally, someone besides Wilder noticed the mysterious visitor.

Everyone on the ship was tense. Before they’d realized someone was there, the person had already nearly reached the ship.

And yet, the area around Hanging Hands Valley was barren and flat—completely open!

The figure drew within 300 meters. One more step and the long-shadow ghost heads could attack.

But the person stopped just short of that range.

Wilder waved off the sailor about to speak again and stared solemnly at the newcomer.

“Your strength is considerable, but there’s no need to involve yourself in Land Drifter affairs.”

Wilder had never seen this person before.

He knew every Second Rank wizard on the Western Continent. This man wasn’t anyone he could even guess at.

“Sent by someone,” the stranger finally spoke. The voice was startlingly pleasant—so pleasant it was hard to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman. “To kill everyone on this ship.”

Then he lifted his head.

Hiss—

“Oh my god!”

“Is that even human?!”

Even these worldly sailors couldn’t help but cry out when they saw his face clearly.

Even Wilder’s eye twitched hard when he saw the stranger’s appearance.

Not from horror—he wasn’t scary.

It was because… he was too good-looking.

How could someone look this good?

Wilder had seen plenty of beautiful men and women in his time—and bedded many of them—but none of them looked as unreal as this person.

“Stay alert!” Suddenly, the first mate, who had the strength of a formal wizard, barked a command. “He never covered his face, but only now do we realize how beautiful he is. That’s clearly an illusion spell! Why are you all gawking? Prepare for battle!”

His words jolted the apprentices back to their senses. Though they were still stunned by the stranger’s beauty, they at least began to prepare for a fight.

Only Wilder shook his head.

He knew it wasn’t an illusion.

The reason they only just noticed the stranger’s appearance—just like how they only noticed he was nearby at the 500-meter mark—was because the stranger had somehow blurred his own presence.

Wilder’s eyes flickered. He suddenly shouted, “You’re a half-elf?”

At that term, even the most smitten and careless crew members turned tense and alarmed.

A half-elf—someone with elven blood. Being around them for too long could drive you mad.

Some with weaker mental realms even stumbled back half a step in fear.

“What are you afraid of?!” the first mate barked again, trying to steady the crew. “A half-elf is no match for the captain! He’s probably just a strong First Rank!”

“Mhm.” The half-elf nodded indifferently, then glanced toward the Elven Valley. “Then let’s begin. I’m in a hurry.”

(End of Chapter)

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